All posts tagged EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced the first-ever federal standards to cut methane emissions from the nation’s oil and natural-gas industry as part of President Barack Obama’s climate-change agenda. Here are five questions about the gas. Read More »

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed lower limits for ground-level ozone, or smog, in the atmosphere, setting in motion the latest in a series of far-reaching federal pollution restrictions.The EPA proposed limiting ozone between 65 and 70 parts per billion in the air and sought comment on a standard as strict as 60 parts per billion, all which is in line with what an independent scientific advisory panel had recommended earlier this year. The current level, established in 2008 by the George W. Bush administration, is set at 75 parts per billion. Here are five things you need to know about the standard. Read More »

In three statements of policy released Monday, the administration announced that President Barack Obama’s senior advisers would recommend rejecting three bills that curtail some of the EPA’s authority and change some of its internal practices. The statements said the president would veto the bills if they made it to his desk. Read More »

If a ditch fills with rainwater – and nobody’s around to see it – can it still be regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency?

That’s a question at the heart of a skirmish between EPA and House Republicans as the agency seeks to define which streams, wetlands, ditches, ponds and other water bodies fall under its jurisdiction. Once classified as a “water of the U.S.,” the water body comes under EPA control and is subject to permits and restrictions under the Clean Water Act. Landowners, including farmers and ranchers, fear they’ll be unable to conduct routine activities on their properties without first obtaining potentially costly permits. Read More »

Several thousand unionized coal miners, electrical workers and others filled Pittsburgh’s downtown on Thursday to protest the Obama administration’s proposed rule to curb carbon emissions from the nation’s power plants, ahead of two days of hearings on the issue in the city.

But in an indication of how the issue has divided the labor movement, several major unions were absent from the protest. Some of those have backed the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to cut greenhouse gas emissions over the next several decades, while others have not yet taken a clear position on the matter.

The United Mine Workers of America and other unions who organized the rally argue that the EPA rule to lower carbon emissions by 30% by 2030 based on 2005 levels would boost electricity prices and cost more than 65,000 jobs mostly across Appalachia, while doing little to address climate change globally.

“It’s going to be devastating if it goes through in its current form,” Cecil Roberts, president of the UMWA, said in an interview before the protest. Read More »

More than two-thirds of Americans support President Barack Obama’s new climate rule and more than half say the U.S. should address global warming even if it means higher electricity bills, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

Widespread support for the carbon rule, unveiled by the Environmental Protection Agency earlier this month, is a rare bright spot for Mr. Obama, who otherwise received mostly low marks by poll respondents on topics ranging from his overall competence to his administration’s decision to trade five imprisoned Taliban officials in exchange for the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Read More »

Insiders—including justices—have been known to call the workaday cases before the court the “dogs,” setting the necessary rulings on bankruptcy, attorneys’ fees and procedural matters apart from major holdings that can drive social and economic shifts in U.S. society. With two weeks left before the end of the court’s current term, the dogs have all been released, leaving in the final push 17 cases involving such issues as the privacy of cellphone data, religious exemptions from the Affordable Care Act, and the president’s recess-appointment power. Read More »

The likely new House majority leader, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.), says energy is the issue he cares the most about. Culled from a recent interview with Mr. McCarthy in his Capitol office, here are five things to know about where the expected second-most senior Republican in the GOP-controlled House stands on energy and environment issues. Read More »

PresidentBarack Obama‘s new climate rule, unveiled Monday, relies on a complex set of numbers and formulas to arrive at what appears to be a relatively straightforward goal: Cut carbon emissions from the nation’s power plants 30% by 2030 based on emissions levels from 2005.

But the impact of the EPA’s new carbon standards varies significantly across the U.S. This sortable chart looks at the climate rule, by the states. Read More »

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